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The Salt Production Process

Learn About Our Chemical Manufacturing Process

Trust DPL-US for High-Quality Mineral Salts

When you need a mineral salt supplier, their production process is everything. The quality of the products you make, whether in the food, pharma, or biopharma industry, depends on the purity and consistency of the mineral salts you obtain from your supplier. DPL-US has a strict and highly controlled chemical manufacturing and production process. We use proven processes to synthesize, modify, and mix the exact mineral salts you need, whether it’s magnesium carbonate, ferrous sulfate, or anything in between. Learn more about the steps in our chemical manufacturing process.

The Chemical Manufacturing and Production Process

Our team has been manufacturing mineral salts since 1886. Over that time, we have mastered the chemical manufacturing process. The state of the art production equipment in our facilities combined with over a century of product knowledge allows us to provide mineral salts that suit the needs of your product no matter what it is. We can customize the characteristics of your chemical salts during this process with chemical and physical modifications. Below are the steps in our mineral salt production process.

Step 1: Collect and Inspect Raw Materials

If you are a food, pharma, or biopharma company, you know that the materials you put in your product determine their final quality. The same is true in the chemical manufacturing of mineral salts. We have teams that manage the collection, inspection, and quality control of our raw materials. We continuously test all of the raw materials used in our products to ensure the final compounds meet every chemical specification necessary.

Step 2: Initial Reactions

Next, our production process puts the raw materials through the chemical reactions necessary to convert them into the desired mineral salt, such as magnesium carbonate. The production of any mineral salt requires a complex process to ensure the correct synthesis of the final mineral salt. Water is usually involved in the reaction. We have a private well that provides us with the highest-quality water possible, which results in a high purity final product.

Step 3: Crystallization of the Salt

At this point in the process, we need to crystalize the mineral salts in an aqueous solution. When a solution becomes super-saturated with a substance, the mineral salts can precipitate and crystallize. We ensure that the circumstances surrounding the crystallization are highly controlled. While the mineral salt has crystallized on a chemical level at this point, it is still a wet substance that you might not recognize.

Step 4: Purifying the Mineral Salts

Purity is one of the most important characteristics of a mineral salt when you are using it in a food, pharma, or biopharma product. We use redundant purification and filtration protocols throughout the chemical manufacturing process. We perform rigorous purification through methods such as recrystallization and filtration.

Step 5: Evaporating and Drying

Letting the mineral salt solution dry might sound like an automatic process, but the method used to dry a substance can make a significant difference in the final product. DPL-US uses more than 15 methods of drying our mineral salts, depending on the requirements of your final product. When this step is done, the mineral salt will be the grainy, crystalline substance you recognize.

Step 6: The Finishing Touches

Once the mineral salt chemical manufacturing process has been completed, we can provide special finishing touches. At this point, we will perform any chemical or physical modifications that your company might need, from microencapsulation to increasing the flowability of the mineral salt. We can also provide various volumes and densities of product, from 5 to 50 metric tons.

Step 7: Outgoing Goods

We know your team needs a reliable flow of mineral salts for your products. That is why we take great care to make logistics as consistent and reliable as the mineral salts we make. You can count on your mineral salts being shipped on time and tested thoroughly. We use extensive quality control and quality assurance measures. To ensure every batch of mineral salt you get is exactly what you need, we routinely test our products before shipping them.

Understand Your Chemical Modification Options

The chemical properties of a substance can vary, even if it has the same name. We can modify any mineral salt or compound to produce different levels of active content, pH levels, and solubility. This is the kind of custom chemical manufacturing process that you need if your company is in the food, pharma, or biopharma industry. Some of our chemical modifications include:

  • Elevated purity
  • Optimal active content levels
  • Specific pH levels
  • Better solubility
  • Heavy metal characterization
  • Reduction of hygroscopy

How Can Particle Design Help You?

We can design the particles of any mineral salt without necessarily changing the underlying properties of the mineral. From surface structure to thermal behavior, the options are endless. Therese features can help make your production process run smoother or optimize the quality of your final product. Below are some of the different ways we can design the particles of any mineral salt.

Surface Structure

The surface structure of each crystal of your mineral salt will have a particular shape. We use Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEMs) to identify the exact morphology of the mineral salts we produce. Some applications will be better served with particular microstructures and morphology. If your product needs mineral salts with a specific particle shape, we can help you do it with scientific precision.

Flowability

Some mineral salts can flow freely, while others may tend to clump together. This can cause clogs if your manufacturing process involves moving these minerals through pipes, tubes, or funnels. We can adjust the powder cohesion rate and perform other physical modifications, such as granulation, to optimize the flowability of your mineral salts.

Thermal Behavior

We can control how your mineral salt reacts to heat to some extent. We can increase or decrease its ability to hold heat. This can be especially important if your application of the mineral salt involves cooking or heat-related processing. We use a thermogravimetric analysis to ensure your thermal behavior specifications are met.

Bulk Density

One of the nice things about mineral salt is that we can provide it to you in a variety of bulk densities. Controlling your bulk density allows you to optimize shipping and storage logistics. If you are interested in a superlight product, we can make it as light as 7 g/L or as dense as 500 g/L.

The Physical Modifications We Can Make to Your Mineral Salts

The physical modifications we can make during our chemical manufacturing process offer many benefits to your company. They offer an efficient and cost-effective process, improve dosage control, and maximize the stability of the product. Some of the physical modifications our team can make include:

  • Micronization: We can reduce your particles to the smallest usable size, 2 µm, through a milling process. This optimizes the mineral salt’s solubility profile and improves its dispersion behavior.
  • Granulation: Fine powders can be modified into larger grains, improving flowability and reducing dust generation.
  • Microencapsulation: Covering each particle of a substance with a protective coating is essential for some food, pharma, and biopharma products. Microencapsulation prevents mineral salts from interacting with other chemicals, controls their release, and optimizes flowability.
  • Aqueous Solutions: If you prefer to receive your mineral salt in a specific aqueous solution, we can do that for you too. We use high-purity water from our private well to produce a ready-to-use concentrate.
  • Blending: We can blend any combination of mineral salts you would like. Our blends allow you to define the exact ratio of the mix and choose the appropriate carrier.

Get Your Mineral Salts From DPL-US!

If your organization needs the best mineral salt producer in the world, DLP-US is the team for you. We have experience working with customers worldwide, from Germany to the United States. No matter where you are, you can count on us for all your mineral salt needs. Contact us today to start working together.